Regarding Brian Branch's postgame strike of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Lions' Dan Campbell said, "What he did is inexcusable."
After his team's Sunday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, safety Brian Branch of the Detroit Lions was in the heart of a nasty confrontation.
Branch delivered an open-handed strike to Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after the game's final kneel-down. Smith-Schuster was sent to the ground by the strike and then ran after Branch, who grabbed the receiver's facemask and threw him to the ground, igniting a pull-apart skirmish with members from both teams.
Unprompted, Lions head coach Dan Campbell reprimanded Branch for his behavior to start off his postgame appearance.
"Let me start with this," Campbell said. "I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it's not going to be accepted here. It's not what we do, it's not what we're about. I apologized to coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and Schuster. That's not OK. That's not what we do here, and it's not gonna be OK. He knows it, our team knows it. That's not what we do."
Branch, 23, apologized for the incident while speaking to reporters in the locker room, but also defended himself in the process.
Branch stated, "I did a real childish thing," according to Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. "People doing things in between plays and the referees not noticing it is becoming old to me. They're out there attempting to intimidate me. It was childish, and I shouldn't have done it."
Branch continued by saying that the receiver's late-game hit on his back was the cause of his fight with Smith-Schuster.
"I got blocked in the back illegally," Branch said. "And it was in front of the ref and the ref didn't do anything. And just stuff like that. I coulda got hurt off a that, but I still should not have done that."
A kneel-down by Patrick Mahomes was the game's last official play on Sunday night. Branch, who was positioned outside the right edge of the Chiefs victory formation, appeared to be going directly toward Smith-Schuster after the quarterback took a knee. He disregarded Mahomes's effort at a handshake and Isiah Pacheco. Smith-Schuster, the safety valve positioned behind Mahomes, raised his arms in the air. When Smith-Schuster extended his hand to Branch, he was struck open-handed.
Smith-Schuster was sent reeling and to the turf. After he got to his feet, he ran after Branch, who was being held back by Pacheco. Branch then grabbed a charging Smith-Schuster by the facemask and slung him to the ground and followed him there, a mass of players surrounding the fracas.
Not long after, Mahomes was interviewed on the field by NBC's Melissa Stark.
"I mean, we play the game in between the whistles," the Chiefs quarterback said. "They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play in between the whistles."
Branch, a 2023 NFL Draft second-round choice out of Alabama, is in his third NFL season. He had seven tackles on Sunday and has tallied 33 through six games this season.
Branch has a history with controversial play, having drawn seven fines last season and three already this season. In total for 2025, Branch has incurred $34,784 in fines so far for an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction (Week 1 versus the Green Bay Packers) and two unnecessary roughness violations (taunting also versus the Packers; Week 3 versus the Baltimore Ravens for a low block).
It's likely Branch will draw at least another fine and potentially a suspension for his postgame actions.
Said Branch: "There was a lot of stuff, but I should've shown it between the whistle, not after the game and I apologize for that."
